News & Events

High School and College Faculty Team Up for Student Readiness

As a follow-up to its second annual College and Career Readiness Summit in February, Waubonsee Community College recently hosted mathematics and English faculty meetings at its Sugar Grove Campus on April 30. Representing Waubonsee and 10 area high schools, the 37 attendees all discussed ways to better prepare students for college and the work world.

Led by Waubonsee mathematics faculty members Amy Del Medico and Tom Pulver, the mathematics committee discussed the data that is gathered from Waubonsee’s developmental math students. Beginning next year, students will be asked what the last high school math course they took was and when it was taken.

The math committee also talked about offering professional development opportunities related to implementing the Common Core State Standards.

The Common Core was also a topic of discussion at the English committee meeting, led by Waubonsee English faculty members Teri Fuller and Kim Livingston, along with Charlene Reader, an English teacher at Somonauk High School. Participants discussed both how their high schools were aligning curricula to the core and how that core aligns with college faculty’s expectations of students.

As the national educational agenda has become more focused on college completion and credentials, it follows that readiness has also come into the spotlight. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, more than one-third of college students need remedial coursework, costing them extra time and money, and serving as a possible deterrent against earning a degree.